Saturday, June 30, 2007

In addition to Iran and Saudi Arabia, which have funded and armed Hamas for decades, Russia, too, should be held accountable for the chaos in Gaza and the suffering of the Palestinian people. Asserting Russia’s influence in Middle East politics, President Vladimir Putin’s invitation to Hamas in February 2006, offered legitimacy to the U.S. designated terrorist organization.

Yuri Andropov, former Soviet and KGB leader may be dead, but his agenda survives with Putin, who like his former master uses terrorist organization to undermine the U.S. Indeed, Putin’s government crackdown on human and civil rights, and the brutal tactics used to consolidate Russia’s economic resources, reminds one of the former Soviet Union.

The Transparency International 2007 global report released on May 24 documents widespread Russian corruption and lack of independence in Russia's legal system, and its courts in particular. This, according to the report, is due to the government’s growing political interference. Novaya Gazeta, Russia’s best-known opposition newspaper, claims that corruption in Russia is the rule, and “business is impossible without it.”

Moreover, Russian Minister of Economic Development and Trade German Gref, speaking at an investor conference in Moscow last week, admitted that "everyone knows the Taxation Service is corrupt." Leading investigative reporter Roman Shleinov claimed recently in London, that attempts to expose this corruption resulted in more than 2,000 dead journalists in the last decade.

Russia’s economic growth -- more than $515 billion in foreign currency and gold reserves -- make Putin very popular among his people, despite the corruption and his regime’s growing restrictions on civil and human rights, freedom of the press, and private, public and foreign entities. Most recently, his popularity reached over 70% approval ratings. Not surprisingly, Putin disregards whatever domestic and foreign criticism of his centralized and authoritarian government. He even declared: “I am an absolute, pure democrat… I am the only one, there just aren't any others in the world.”

Russia’s long tradition of autocratic regimes seems to empower Putin’s undermining of Russia’s recent history of democratic capitalism. With ever-increasing frequency, Russia uses its corrupt courts to legitimize nationalizing and confiscating private and public corporations from entrepreneurs who built their wealth and the Russian economy on the ashes of the crumbling Soviet infrastructure. Those allowed are holding onto their corporations and vast personal wealth, carrying out Putin’s agenda of centralization and consolidation of domestic and even global strategic resources and industries such as aluminum and steel, and above all, energy.

Putin began consolidating Russia’s energy industry four years ago, with the now familiar ploy of accusing oil company Yukos, and its owner Mikhail Khodorkovsky with tax fraud. Russia's biggest, state-owned gas and oil company, Gazprom, and its state-owned oil company, Rosneft, grabbed the bankrupted Yukos assets, and Khodorkovsky was sent to prison for nine years. Since then, Yukos’ foreign shareholders are engaged in costly lawsuits outside Russia in attempts to recover damages.

In September 2006, alleging environmental violations, the Russian government revoked the Royal Dutch Shell company license to operate the world's biggest liquefied gas development in Sakhalin. Less than three months later, Shell was forced to hand over control of the $22 billion project to Gazprom.

The latest casualty is the international oil company BP. The Russian government threats to revoke its development license, culminated when Putin publicly stated: “how much longer do we have to tolerate this?” On June 22, BP was forced to sell its 62.9% stake in the world’s largest natural gas field in Kovykta -- worth an estimated $20 billion -- to Gazprom for only pennies on the dollar, a mere $700- $900 million.

So it's no surprise that Canadian investors in Magna International, an auto parts manufacturer and supplier, look askance at plans to sell 20 million shares and partial control for $1.54 billion, in exchange for entry into Russia’s market. The proposed buyer, Russian Machines, is a manufacturing giant controlled by Vladimir Putin’s billionaire crony, “Aluminum King” Oleg Deripaska, whose entry visa to the U.S. was recently revoked.

Deripaska, rumored as Russia’s wealthiest oligarch, would get only 42% of Newco, the new holding company that would control Magna, rather than the 94% that those shares represent. Moreover, according to the agreement, the Canadian owners and executives of the company would receive the equivalent of $883 per share, -- though their shares are worth some $93. That doesn’t compute. “When smart, rational people do things like that, and nobody can tell me why -- I start getting suspicious,” said one Magna shareholder.

Considering Deripaska’s close personal ties to Putin, Magna shareholder skepticism rose on hearing an assurance from the Canadian company chariman, Frank Stronac, that Putin "endorsed" Deripaska as a business partner. Why is that important, they rightly wonder? Rather than giving Magna entry into Russia's market, it indicates that Deripaska’s foothold in the company would lead to yet another Russian takeover, and a total loss for Magna's existing Canadian shareholders.

That would fit Deripaska's reputed practices, which are often disputed. In May 2007, Deripaska settled a $500 million lawsuit in which his former partners in Tajik Aluminum Smelter TadAZ charged him with fraud and sought an estimated $220 million, plus costs, interest, and damages. Another former business partner, Michael Cherney, is now suing Deripaska for violations of an agreement granting Cherney 20% of RusAl. Initially, Deripaska denied the agreement. Since the document surfaced, Deripaska has been attempting to evade the British lawsuit by claiming lack of jurisdiction. Unless he settles this dispute, too, his plan to take RusAl public for $30 billion in London later this year may be affected.

All this leaves one questioning the wisdom of U.S. officials, who are now inviting further Russian investment in and joint venture with U.S. businesses. On June 18, U.S. Deputy Treasury secretary Robert Kimmitt declared: "We want to be sure they consider investment opportunities in the United States.”

But smart buyers, bankers and regulators will worry about the provenance of assets offered in Russian IPOs -- and how long it will take before Russia “legally” confiscates and fully controls those assets. Moreover, those assets may well be used to fund Islamist terrorist organizations.

5 comments:

Anonymous
said...

This is Hector,

USSR and Russia funding terrorism. Interesting concept. The Russians didn't finance the Afghan Mujahideen, the Albanian KLA Mujahideen in Kosovo, The fascistic Bosnian Mujahideen government, the Croatian neo-Ustasha regime, Saddam Hussein, Pol Pot, ethnic cleansing regimes of Indonesia and Guatemala; ship arms to the Ayatollah Khomeini. Who did all this? The USA in the mission to spread "democracy" all over the world.

However, your little article says little on the subject and focuses more on the economic tactics of the Russian capitalist rulers.

It takes quite some socio-pathic tendencies to compare Russia inviting Hamas with material US support for actual terrorists (KLA), including support by means of putting an entire military alliance at the disposal of a rag-tag terrorist/mafia organisation -- even providing them with a country, all based on allegations of genocide that were groundless (look up "operation horseshoe" and the amazing role of the BND in fabricating that charade).

Hamas is, incidentally, a democratically elected party -- in an election encouraged by the US, which then refused to recognize the results.

IF you look at the post-soviet death-toll... Russia starts looking like a school boy compared to the great USA... but... does this matter to somebody who is self-admittedly suffering from a mental disease, namely a phobia?

Just like Semitophobes, no matter what is being said, it doesn't matter. The phobia overrides all reason....:)

Or, in your case, money overrides any semblance of reason.

At the same time, I think you are slipping and getting sick of the game yourself. A few of your articles are so obviously hilarious and inane that one can only conclude that the money you receive from your employers is not enough to fully override whatever sense of decency there may be left in your rotten soul.

Affiliations

About La Russophobe

We are a team blog, and our content is the work of many talented people. Our fearless leader is Kim Zigfeld, a Pajamas Media blogger (Publius Pundit) and a Pajamas Media Russia correspondent. You can join us! You may e-mail La Russophobe with comments or submissions for publication consideration at larussophobeATyahooDOTcom. You can also find us on FACEBOOK.
This blog quotes from source material, and links to it. When a post contains quotes and original material, the quotes are in black and the original in red. See welcome post for copyright notice.

LR Wants YOUR Opinion

Are the people of Russia worth risking your life for?

Free polls from Pollhost.com

Supporting La Russophobe

La Russophobe does not solicit or accept financial support from any source. If you would like to show your support for LR and your opposition to the rise of dictatorship in Russia, there are three easy ways to do it. (1) Click on the following Technorati banner, create a Technorati account (it's free, fast and easy) and favorite this blog with it. (2) Digg or Delicious or StumbleUpon one of our posts. (3) LR welcomes your e-mail comments and submissions for publication at the address above.

PUTIN MUST FREE THE NEMTSOV WHITE PAPER!

That craven coward Vladimir Putin is censoring the brilliant, courageous and patriotic research of former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov reviewing Putin's record in office. We demand this outrage cease immediately. Read the paper in English PDF here. The HTML version (can be cut and pasted) is here.

Tell All the Truth

Tell all the truth but tell it slant,Success in circuit lies:Too bright for our infirm delightThe truth's superb surprise.

As lightning to the children easedWith explanation kind,The truth must dazzle graduallyOr every man be blind.

-- Emily Dickinson

Alone

From childhood's hour I have not beenAs others were, I have not seenAs others saw, I could not bringMy passions from the common spring.From the same source I have not takenMy sorrow, I could not awakenMy heart to joy at the same tone,And all I loved, I loved alone.Then in my childhood, in the dawnOf a most stormy life was drawnFrom every depth of good and illThe mystery which binds me still:From the torrent, and the fountain,From the red cliff of the mountain,From the sun that 'round me rolledIn its autumn tint of gold;From the lightning in the sky,As it passed me, flying by,From the thunder, and the storm,And the cloud that took the form(When the rest of Heaven was blue)Of a demon in my view.

YouTube Russia (Video Will Appear at TOP of Page when Clicked -- Scroll UP After Selecting)

Play Hangman

La Russophobe

Girl Power: Ginger Rogers could do everything Fred Astaire could do . . . backwards, and in high heels.

Pioneer Power: Though he painted more than 1,000 works of art in his lifetime, Vincent Van Gogh sold only two.

Mark Twain: "It's a man with very little imagination who can only spell a word one way."

Socrates: "To be is to do." Sartre: "To do is to be." Sinatra: "Do be do be do."

Girl Power: On May 14, 2006, a perfect game was pitched in the Oakfield, New York Little League. Perfect as in 18 consecutive strikeouts. The pitcher's name? Katie Brownell. She's the only female player in the league.

Girl Power: On April 13, 2007, the Independent reported that women will soon be able to produce sperm cells from their bone marrow, making men obsolete.